A Polka Dot plant I picked up at the co-op. Because it’s snowed here again today, all morning, just when I thought it was spring. This guy was just too charming, all rosy and lively, so I had to have him. It’s like having flowers without the petals.
Conditioning Sprouts March 30, 2008
I have been frustrated by the recent snow, but my seedlings are doing better than ever, thanks in part to a noisy little fan. Neville finally pointed out how comical it is when I power that baby up and the sprouts begin to wobble in panic like a crowd of puppets (“She’s put on the fan again! Grow!! Grow!!!”) But hey, they’re so much stronger for it. At least I know I won’t lose any to wind.
The one problem I haven’t been able solve is mold growth, even though I dutifully water from the bottom; and sprinkled cinnamon on the soil, and dusted everything with dried milk, both remedies for mold and fungus. I think these measures have cut down on the hairy freeloaders, but they’re not gone. At the moment there’s a downy gray posse encroaching on my Romaine. I guess I could be glad that there’s something to do while the snow clears.
It’s Beautiful, But I Can’t Garden in It March 28, 2008
We woke up to exuberant new mounds of snow this morning.
It’s gorgeous. But it’s so ironic: Just yesterday, standing near the exposed earth of my garden plot, I announced to Neville that I would plant carrots and radishes outdoors today, that I didn’t have to wait and build and plant everything in a raised bed, that the soil was bare and begging to be used.
And the stormclouds said, “Ha!”
It’s still coming down out there.
Basil Sprout, Hours Old March 26, 2008
Here it is, the birth of a basil plant. Amazing how they grow so quickly. These have been sitting under the full-spectrum lamp every night (I’m sunning my sprouts in shifts now). I planted them on March 20 and, true to packet information, they broke ground just 5 days later.
I will be waiting on peppers for another week, at least. Did I start them too late? I’m hoping to improve on last year’s “dwarf” peps, which topped out at only two inches long.
In the background is my first crop of Romaine. I’m down to four plants, from an initial six. One failed to sprout well, another broke under my ministrations of tough love — I believe I squashed him while trying to drain out excess water.
The Root 